Linen Care

Care of Antique and Vintage Linens

This section is meant to help get you started or to help give you new
ideas. We welcome additional tips, comments and any contributions on
the subject.
The key thing to remember when dealing with older textiles is to be
gentle. Old linen fibers are old and hence can be weaker and prone to
damage. You will mostly want to hand-wash, although your washing machine
can sometimes help avoid the heavy labor and work this imposes.
Do not try to rush the process and be patient; it can take days to
obtain results. Some textiles have had decades to accumulate dirt and
soil!

Supplies to have on hand:

Soap flakes or a very gentle detergent,

Q-tips,

large soft towels,

a large container,

clothespins

Biz (use sparingly and only where applicable to your particular situation)

1. Start by soaking the item in a mixture of Biz (if desired) and a
gentle detergent (Dreft, Orvus Quilt Soap, laundry flakes). Soaking is
important and should not be skipped. Dry and brittle fibers benefit from
water and from immersion.

2. Soak up to 2-3 days if you can and as needed. Use the washer, and
replace the water regularly. Just drain the water, spin a few seconds to
get rid of excess, and put more in. Do not spin or use the machine for
very old and delicate pieces.

3. For delicate items, use a container and wash gently, stirring
with a spoon. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Better too much than not enough.

4. Remove items from water. Be gentle since at this stage the linens
are very fragile. If the piece is heavy, support it with both hands, or
get help. Do not let large pieces just hang down. Place linens on a
towel and start patting dry. Do not squeeze. Roll gently into a towel.

5. Lay item flat, on a towel or white sheet. Especially if you are
using the outdoors, a white sheet will help reflect the sunshine
available. If will also protect your linen from grass stains and worse.
Grass fields in Europe were known in the old days as the 'bleaching
fields'.

6. Dry items in sunshine if available. Even in winter, with a weak
sun, outside drying is great. We do not recommend the dryer since it
makes linens grayish and dulls them. Never use the clothesline for
anything large and/or heavy. Sheets (especially linen), quilts,
bedspreads and the like have to dry flat. Putting them on a line will
damage them by stretching them out of shape and result in major damage.

7. If you really must use a dryer because of where you live or
because it's -20F outside, try using some of the special dryer sachets
available. Also try to remember to remove the linens before they are
completely dry to make ironing easier. Do not use the dryer if there are
still stains and spots left on the piece. If at all possible, only use
the dryer as a last resort and when you are absolutely sure an item is
100% clean and well rinsed. Use the lowest heat setting and take items
out as soon as the excess water is removed. Try to never use the dryer
for anything that has to lie flat since it will distort them.

Ironing- Not everyone's favorite job but it truly can be
therapeutic and a pleasure. Make sure you have a good quality iron and
that it is perfectly clean. Try to get to your ironing when the linens
are still damp (even a bit wetter than damp). This makes the job easier
and the results will be better. Hand ironing can be relaxing at a
leisurely pace, in front of television for example.

Iron on a clean, smooth surface. Use a large white soft towel if you
are ironing embroidery, and place the piece face down, so the
embroidery does not get flattened. Use the correct setting, and work
slowly from one end to the next. Fold or place item on a hanger, and let
it sit until bone-dry (it's not quite dry even after ironing). Ironing
an item that has been out in the sun can be a true pleasure. It smells
so nice! You can enhance the experience by using scented linen water.
Only use starch if you will be using the linens, not storing them (see
below). Roll tablecloths and large items (e.g. sheets) if storing them,
to avoid stress on the creases.

What to do if washing is not enough?

If there are stubborn stains left, here are the things we recommend.
Be especially cautious when working with any colored linens, and do spot
testing where appropriate to make sure the attempted cure is not worse
than the problem. Here is an overview of the most common problems and
what to do:

- Rust. Sometimes rust is not actually rust. There are real rust
sport of course, caused by metal and water coming in contact with
fibers. Humid environments are very damaging to linens. The other 'rust'
is simply a storage problem. Not rust at all. Usually a gentle soak,
maybe followed by a treatment with one of the products below, will be
enough, unless your item has already been so damaged by these spots that
they degrade even further. You do not have anything to lose at this
point by trying to get the spots out anyway.

- Yellowing, brown smudges, and stains. Caused by storage, wood, age,
humidity and more. Can be especially noticeable in folds. A good soak
followed by one of the products below for more stubborn stains, will
usually do the trick.

- Ink. Special ink removers are available if a simple soak and spot
treatment does not work. Vinegar can be useful as can hairspray. Spot
test first.

- Pieces where the dye has run are not necessarily ruined. It
requires patience and some elbow grease but they can be saved. If the
run is recent, Ritt makes an Excess Dye Remover. However it is not
appropriate for all pieces, nor will it always work. If the piece is
going to be trashed anyway, you can try bleach with a very weak solution
of bleach and water and a Q-Tip. Do not do this unless the item would
be thrown away otherwise. Rinse thoroughly and use vinegar n the rinse
to help neutralize the bleach. Last resort only!

Stain removal products and tips/tricks

- A mixture of lemon juice and water and let the item dry in the sun.
Don't ever do this for long and always rinse thoroughly afterwards
since lemon juice is acidic. Don't do this on very old and delicate
pieces. Same with vinegar. Both work well but require caution. These 2
tricks work well with 'rust' so try these before anything more drastic.

- One of the best products available for linens is Restoration made by Engleside
Products and available through our website. We cannot recommend this
product enough; it is truly great. Follow the directions carefully, and
never use it on silk (most of our tips do not apply to silk, the only
product for that is LeBlanc's Silk and Lingerie wash or a good dry cleaner).

- Another very good line of products is LeBlanc Linen Wash. The LeBlanc series smells good and works even better.

- An old family recipe for many Europeans is as follows: to whiten
yellowed linens, soak them for 48 hours in a solution of ½ cup sea salt
per 1 gallon of water. Rinse carefully and then dry in the sun if
possible, on a flat surface.

A few words of caution

- Avoid bleach and products with bleach and optical whiteners. They
will damage your items more than they will help them. Bleach destroys
fibers by weakening them and generally the damage is not worth the
results.

- Do not starch items that will be stored away. Only starch if you
are going to use them soon. Starch attracts little bugs known as
silverfish. They will feast on it and eat the fabric too!

- Fold items carefully if storing them, and refold often if storing
them so that the fold lines don't weaken the fibers. Store in a dark dry
closet (remember the sun bleaches). Never allow linens to come into
direct contact with wood and make sure they are stored in a dry place.
If you can, store linens in acid-free materials,
rolled up in the paper and in a cardboard box (acid-free). Also, do not
store your linens in plastic bins or in anything plastic. Linens and
textile in generals need to breathe.

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